ˈnurse-tree
[nurse n.1]
1. A tree planted to protect others.
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 1089 In mixed plantations the nurse trees should be first gradually thinned out. 1891 B. E. Fernow What is Forestry? 17 Where..the mother or nurse trees are removed, a thicket of young beeches has replaced the old growth. 1902 B. E. Fernow Economics of Forestry vii. 175 When the latter [sc. the young crop] has come up, the nurse trees are gradually removed to give the young seedlings the required light. 1953 H. L. Edlin Forester's Handbk. v. 75 Frost-tender trees should never be planted in frost-hollows without the protection of a hardier nurse-tree. 1971 E. Hyams Capability Brown i. v. 49 He [sc. Brown] used some conifers as nurse trees. |
2. A tree supporting a parasitic plant.
| 1857 Henfrey Bot. §40 The full-grown plant appears rootless, and like a branch or graft upon the nurse-tree. |